Put me in the row with Linda - sometimes I find myself wanting to use the written words & when that happens, I know I am tired, distracted & the possibility of more distraction, i.e. maybe not the best time for lace ^ .. ^

Joann, lovely question & thread. I love to learn from what others do & how they do it.

For me, it depends on the pattern. Easy repetitions and short pattern repeats are easy to memorize, and sometimes I like the written directions since I don't have to refer to the details as much. A quick glance will restore my memory.

But for more complicated patterns, I use a chart because I find it easier to keep my place. If I make a copy of it, I will make my own notes, such as numbering the blank boxes which stand for a knit or purl stitch. I can glance at the last number and know that I need to knit or purl XX stitches.

I'm a dyed in the wool (forgive the pun) pattern reader. I have a couple of really horrid diseases which have robbed me of my short-term memory. Trying to remember what all those symbols mean (and then repeatedly checking the key to make sure) is time-consuming and frustrating. Besides, I learned how to knit and crochet 54 years ago before charts were readily available, so reading patterns is like second-nature to me.

I, too, started out with written patterns. The charts baffled and intimidated me. As I became more experienced with lace, and more experienced reading my own knitting, my "knitting" mind changed. The chart symbols became a more accessible language (symbol system) for what my eyes were interpreting and my fingers were doing. Now I chart everything!

Kali in Vermont where the cool weather is tantalizing that knitting mind, pushing my fingers to want lovely wools rather than plant fibers (and silk) running through them

I can't follow either - not sure what that's about! I prefer to use my own imagination in my designs, perhaps starting with a pattern, but when I can no longer follow it, I either do my own thing or sometimes bind off and add freeform crochet to finish. Perhaps these are skills I might want to learn????

Pattern and stitch charts give me a headache! Those symbols never make sense to me and I am constantly checking and re-checking. Ugh!But when it comes to colorwork I do quite well with charts-lol! There's more than one way to boil water- whatever works!

I prefer to have both the written directions and the graph. That way I can double check a direction if it is a complicated pattern. I usually make a copy of the graph and pencil off each line as I finish it, that way I don't ever get lost.

I remember being scared to death of charts. My first couple Irish Knits were written patterns, and I thought that was the only way to go. Then I picked a ridiculously complicated sweater that forced a chart on me. Now I avoid any complex pattern that does not have a chart!

I don't use charts much because I design my own projects a lot. My latest project required drawing the stitches out, though, to really understand what to do (it worked).

I find text instructions to be unwieldy most of the time. After knitting my first sweater, I realized that the reason it took so long to get into sweaters was those mounds of written instructions. A chart may be easier, but somewhere it seems like I'd still have to read some text to decipher it (like when it's important to know that only the RS rows are shown on the chart). So I would be comfortable using some of both, mainly the chart, but then having the text to fall back on when I need it.

I prefer charts definitely. If it isn't charted, I'll make my own. I can enlarge it if it's too small, add notes, and keep track with a magnetic board or highlighter tape. A chart allows me to see just where I'm at in a pattern since it shows me visually the relationship of the stitches not only to each other but, more importantly, row to row. Also, if I want to change a pattern from working flat to working in the round, a chart is the easiest way to make that change. It may be no more complicated than just eliminating the "plus" stitches."